You Might As Well Stay Home - How Being Chronically Tired Affects your Productivity and Creativity

I used to be one of those people who would boast of how little sleep I needed, frequently working till 2-3am and waking up before 6/7am. Now however, I seriously evangelize against it even where I'm not paid to do so. I can only say sorry for the number of deadlines I missed and the errors in my work that my bosses and colleagues had to deal with.  

If you compromise your sleep or diet, you can come to work be at your desk between 9 - 5, but because your are chronically tired, you might as well be home. There are times when we have to spend our time outside of work to do more work to sustain ourselves, this is perfectly understandable and even necessary but should never be allowed to compromise the quality of the work we have promised to deliver. 

As a biological organism, your brain prioritizes your safety, so especially for those of us doing intellectual work, your productivity for some 'employer' is not your brain's first priority from a biological point of view. To be creative requires your brain to dedicate resources and processing power to the tasks you are engaged in. Your brain cannot think creatively to come up with new ideas if you are chronically tired and malnourished. 

As a side note, I believe many of the illnesses and sudden deaths you hear about, may not always have to do with witchcraft; too many people are running their bodies to the point that one small illness shuts the whole system down.

The reason this is hard for people to understand is that, God gave us very a strong machine called our body, it can sustain a lot of pressure and it will take a long time for it to snap under the pressure, even with very extreme lifestyles. Habits such as little sleep, too much caffeinated drinks (especially when we are on too little sleep - coffee, energy drinks etc), alcohol, smoking, eating junk food - the porsche food we buy.

The point is, your time outside of work determines to a great extent, how productive you will be when you are at work. Take care of your health - try to eat well (which is not the same as eat expensive), sleep well, keep healthy. Note that you can eat expensive food and still be deficient in essential nutrients your body needs to perform at its best. 

Have a great end of week...

Young People in Africa Simply Don't Have the Luxury of Being Average!

Several months ago I was addressing a large group of final year students at the University of Sierra Leone (FBC) at a career event. I was listening to the speaker before me encourage the young people present about the importance of taking responsibility for reaching their goals and driving their careers. I started off my pitch by reminding them that, the state of our country and so many other countries in our continent, means that they cannot be happy with simply being average. 

They were soon going to graduate from university and it's easy for them to feel entitled to a high paying job but I reminded them that they actually need to go beyond just getting a job and staying at one. They need to see themselves as a beacon of hope and transformation in their communities and places of work. It is not enough for them to just do the minimum at their jobs, they must go beyond the normal call of duty. If you are a young person in our part of the world, you do not just do your job, you do the best job you can do.

I was in a conversation a few days later with my colleagues and I was hearing the horror stories of young people drowning in the Mediterranean sea for hopes of getting a better life in Europe. Any where you turn, there's a problem that needs fixing! Take the state of our healthcare systems, take poverty, take our legal systems, take the state of technology, infrastructure etc. Each of these and countless others need a young person who will say "I pick this problem! It's mine to tackle!". I will spend my time learning everything I need to learn and engaging with the individuals, groups and institutions that can help tackle this problem at scale. 

If you're a teacher, don't just be an ordinary teacher; be the best your village, community or country has ever got! Don't just graduate from the College of Medicine and become an ordinary doctor, be the best doctor we have ever seen. Don't just be an engineer, be the best there could be. Don't just be a tailor, build a team of tailors making the best designs in the country! You do this because if don't then who will?

Everyone has a unique advantage, if you nurture that advantage and tap into it to the fullest, you and everyone around you will benefit from it. If no one is doing something about this problem you roll your sleeves and do something about it!

There's too much at stake, you should not be happy with being average. Be the best at whatever you do. You will be proud of your success but we will all be happy that you made the sacrifices to tackle the challenges around you.

5 Lessons from the Generator Mechanic's Problem Solving Approach for life and business

Today I took our generator to a mechanic at Cockle Bay. The moment we dropped it, he checked the fuel gauge, he checked the oil and checked that the spark plugs is well placed. Then he tried to start it. 

It didn't start, so he tried cleaning up the plug area, still didn't start, he took out the air filter. He then opened the uppermost compartment of the engine. As he kept trying to start the engine, he could now see how key parts are moving together. He noticed that the spark plug is new but doesn't seem quite the right one. He asked that we replaced it. I asked how much, he gave me 3 different types one 15k, one  25k and a third one 35k. I asked what's the difference, he said 'quality'. Being frugal I chose the mid-level one at 25k - bottom line I settled for less quality. 

What lessons can we learn from the generator mechanic's approach to solving problems? Here's some that I took from the encounter:

1. You have got to discover the problem first before you start providing solutions. Sometimes we provide solutions rather than taking an objective  step-by-step approach to situations. Our hunches and intuitions can be true and insightful but they can also be deathly misleading as they carry with them our ego, biases, weaknesses and desires etc. These are all great allies, they have their place but they can interfere with our objectivity, especially in situations where it's most needed. 

2. In trying to discover problems start diagnosing from the most common problems before starting the search for more advanced and extraneous ones - common problems are common. Often problems have their roots in the open but we get too hung up on going deep that we forget to pick the low hanging fruits.

3. Trust the professional and let them discover the problem themselves  - but check. The mechanic brought a spark plug It came in an oldish looking box. I objected, he said that's not the point; 'the key is that it proves itself'. The other thing is (as is usually the case), I have this inclination to explain what I think the problem is before the mechanic diagnoses it. Today, I held my self tight from doing so, I answered questions but nothing more. For instance they  discovered that there was oil spillage as the repair was going on. I had a hunch that there was a seal that we inserted some months back, that it may have gotten loose. The point is that there may even be other problems; you will interfere with this natural discovery process if you inject your views of the problem too early. Let professionals do their job. 

4. Solve problems in a modular fashion. Most things/systems are made up of independent parts that work together in a harmonious manner. After diagnosing the whole system - then take one part out (the one that most clearly seems faulty) and try to fix it as an independent element, then test the system again. If the problem continues then move on to another part. It's impractical to try to reform a whole system at once but in life and in business we try to do it.

5. The breath of the tools available at your hands can impact the quality of your problem diagnosis and solving. While the number of tools is important, the range of areas those tools can be applied is also of great import. 

What are your thoughts on these lessons from a seemingly ordinary encounter?

Have a great week.

Alusine Barrie - Where did my time go? - A successful week is planned!

Once you are clear about where you are headed, your time will become 10X more valuable

Am I spending time on the right things?

Someone asked me the other day what they should do to make the best use of their time and deal with their fears. Let's focus on how to make the best use of our time first as this is extremely important. 

Once we become aware of the amount of time we waste every week, it is difficult to not feel guilty about it. The amount of time we spend scrolling through Facebook, traversing WhatsApp groups, watching movies (of other people becoming successful), chatting about mindless matters etc. is time stolen from us and the kind of people we really want to become. 

But how do I have a great week this week?

The first thing I would like you to do is consider the previous week and make a note of the major activities on which you spent most of your time on. Is it watching movies, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, video games, chatting about mindless matters with your 'friends' over things that don't really add value to you or them? You owe it to yourself to know where exactly your 168 hours (that's the number of hours in a week!) went. The truth is, our lives will be headed in the direction of the activities we are most engaged in. Once you do this, then ask yourself these questions:

 "Is this what I want to spend most of my time on?", "Are these activities benefitting me or the people I am engaging with?" "What kind of person do I want to become? [and] Are these activities taking me closer to this person or are they a barrier keeping me from becoming my best self?" Try to answer these questions as honestly as you can - at the end of the day you're your only judge, so judge well!

Once we are clear where our time is and checked whether this is what we desire deep down, we can now talk about having a successful week. To have a successful week, you need to have an aim for the week. Take 15 minutes (that's all) to consider your three biggest goals and ask yourself "What three things  can I do (one for each goal or however you want really) this week that will help me drive my most important goals forward and bring me a step closer to becoming the person I want to be? Have a notebook, find a diary if you  can. Once you've decided what activities you want to spend your time on, decide which day and at what time, you'll engage in each of the activities. The more specific, the better.

Once you do this, your time will become 10X more valuable. People see you and say why do you move so fast, it seems like you're always rushing to somewhere. That's what you ideally want, you're on the path to becoming your best self, all the time.  

Pro tip: spend as little time as possible doing mindless things. If you enjoy chatting about football/watching movies fine, but make sure to put a time to do that and discipline yourself!

Now go plan your week, and let me know how it went. Wish you a wonderful week!

Best regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie - Build your career through skills and expertise first - then optimize through networking

Bonus: the people who end up recommending you for opportunities will be proud they did so.

With our culture of 'sababu' (as we call it in Sierra Leone) - getting jobs, career opportunities or getting your way primarily because you have ties with someone wielding the decision making power can have the tendency of making young people optimize for the wrong thing. And of course, this also creates a dynamic that discourages young people from becoming skilled professionals, contributing to their communities and the organizations they're part of, especially those whose families are not necessarily 'connected'. We teach people from a young age get that if you are not 'connected', your chances of succeeding remain bleak at best. 

Getting recommendations for new opportunities from people who know your skill set and competencies is not a bad thing, you just don't want to be given an opportunity despite the fact that you're not the qualified person for the task. Although this may be nice in the short run, in the long run it leaves us vulnerable. Furthermore, poor accountability and toxic loyalties build up in organizations as people are obliged to be loyal to the people who gave them the 'opportunity' rather than serving the needs of the organization/its clients. 

What often happens is that when people rarely dedicate themselves to doing the job well, instead they get busy trying to please the person who gave them the opportunity. It's easy to see why this is the case, they didn't get the opportunity because of their skill and competence. But what happens if this person falls out of favour? Or you don't want to be loyal to them if it goes against your values? What happens to the organization/people we are serving? What happens to our own peace of mind? What happens to your continued career growth? Maybe these questions don't matter to you, then this post is not for you.

Don't get me wrong, people who love and want to empower you will push you for opportunities when they are convinced you are the best person for the task, but never (just) because you're their brother/sister or former school mate. People who do this are not doing you a favour, they're simply filling their egos through you.

Foundations for a successful career are built on professionalism and a strong skill set. What you want to do is develop a strong set of skills on which you want to build your career and once you do that then you can seek opportunities to apply them. Optimize your skills first and then and only then your relationships (or 'network' as we say).

If you do this, build strong skills first before using your network, we will all benefit  - the net effect is positive for you, your organization and your community (through the people you serve). In the short run you may have to put effort into developing those skills, but the benefit and peace of mind is so much better. In fact, the harder the skill the better. You will thank God someday that you chose to do this rather than the easy way.

Best Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie: First Impressions Will Not Take You Far _ Be Professional, Don't (Just) Look It

I would like to start by stating that there is something to be said about looking professional. Especially for young people entering the job market. After all, 'first impressions go a long way' is a well known piece of wisdom preached to young people (and rightly so). Studies have shown that in the first few seconds of interacting with us people make a an impression of us based on how we look or carry ourselves, until those impressions are caused to change.  

In situations where someone has to make a judgement about your character or capacity and you don't have a chance to demonstrate your inner powers, it is critical to make good first impressions. In your early interactions with other people (in your job search, or first days/weeks at your workplace) you want to look professional - dress professionally and carry yourself in a way that communicates expertise, professionalism and maturity.

The challenge with first impressions is that, they are like perfume, the effect eventually wears off. Through experience, we have learnt that first impressions of others are not very reliable measures of character and of your capacity to contribute to an organization's growth and success. They are just tentative. Once people make impressions of us, they are constantly comparing us now against the impressions they made of you the first time they interacted with us.  

So rather than (just) looking professional, why not do both? Dress appropriately, but more importantly get to work on time, do your work with diligence, contribute to your team's success and deal with clients respectfully and kindly.

First impressions may work to get you a job (if you are lucky), but they are surely insufficient to help you keep your job and succeed as a professional. So, choose to be professional.

Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

 

Alusine Barrie: You Need New Glasses - Never Believe A Prophecy That Doesn't Empower You

Many of us navigate the world based on the theories others developed. 

GENIUS, this is a dangerous word. I consider myself somewhat stubborn in telling everyone I get to meet - friends, students, trainees, peers, colleagues etc. to never call anyone a genius because that is the easiest way of telling ourselves that what they did/are doing is 'impossible'. 

The danger is that the moment you 'believe' something is not possible, you give up all power to drive yourself to try and to persevere in the face of challenges. Now, when you try something new and it's difficult (especially in the beginning) you use the image of this person you have labelled 'GENIUS' to give yourself permission to give up on what you're aiming for. Not a good idea.

From the dictionary, the word belief "(in something/somebody) [is] a strong feeling that something or someone exists or is true;". If our beliefs are what we consider to be true (at least for us) and that they are strong feelings, and we agree that what we feel strongly about affects our day-to-day decisions, then it logical to infer that our beliefs control and shape our lives. 

Beliefs are not a bad thing on their own, they become so when they are the thing that is holding you back from reaching your dreams and goals. I am a Muslim and I fervently believe in God, but I try to use that belief each day to empower me to go after my goals and conduct myself in the world in a way that leaves as happy and fulfilled as possible. Someone else can use the same belief in God to explain why they should forever be stuck in poverty or where they are. It's all about the perspective you choose to take. 

Interestingly, if you take a little time to think about why you believe in the things you believe in you will realize that most of what you consider your beliefs are actually not your own. The beliefs established around you are not truths, they are shortcuts developed by other people to deal with their own circumstances and desires that they have passed on to you. There's no one out there like you, so sometimes (especially with your beliefs) learn to build your own theories about how the world works using your own judgement.

Transitioning to more empowering beliefs is like navigating the world with a new set of glasses, just that this time they are clearer glasses that give you power to reach your dreams. Once you change your beliefs, you'll realize you've been looking at yourself, what you are capable of and the world with they wrong glasses. 

Don't know if you need to change your beliefs (a.k.a your glasses)? It's simple, if you feel stuck and progressing in they way you deeply know you can, then there's something holding you back. You may not see it clearly yet, but it's there. Once you figure it out (which is the first step), work to change it. You can do this by talking to trusted people, reading books - especially autobiographies/stories of people who had similar circumstances as you but worked to achieve things similar to what you are aiming to achieve.

Any other beliefs, if they don't empower you to reach your highest self, get rid of them, they're not true...

Wishing you the best in your journey of transformation. I shared this post because someone reached out to me asking how they could reach their dreams (not like I've reached my but anyways)...

Have a blessed Sunday,

Alusine Barrie.

Alusine Barrie: Truth Is Discovered In Action - What We Say We Want And What We Are Truly Committed To

Hi,

Permit me to discuss an important issue. This is something I've had to grapple with a lot, because in many ways I consider myself a big dreamer, the people I've been around think so too:). Having big dreams is great, it's the important pre-requisite, but it's not what changes things. I was reminded of it when one of my students shared his big dream with me the other day. So as I'm advising you, I'm also advising myself.

These days it's as easy as opening your eyes to meet people (young as well as old) who dream of changing the world or who hope to become the next big name in something. Actually it's always been that way, we find it easier to say what we want to do/be rather than actually being in the process of doing or becoming those things we dream of. Talking about things we want to do is so easy, doing them on the other hand is a whole different game.

However, this is by no trivial matter, especially for young people with all these big dreams and ideas. You think you have lot of time to wander around aimlessly, telling everyone about your grand dreams and schemes while doing nothing to bring them to fruition. When you are young is the time you have the energy and space to act on your goals and desires. Ideas are great, after all everything around us - the computers, mobile phones, the places we work, the cars we ride in, the restaurant we go to, everything we admire and gain value from was once just a dream in someone's head. However, at some point they had to take action to bring that dream into fruition.

A the end of the day, the way you spend your time and the things that hold your attention often tell the truth about what you are really committed to. If you say you would like to start your own business or found your own organization but spend the best hours of your day on things not aligned with the goal or that are by nature mutually exclusive with your goal and ambition, you need to re-assess yourself. Do you really want to pursue this thing that you say you want to pursue or are you just enjoying talking about it. 

We don't get get rewarded for the things we dream to do/become someday, so pick up your axe and cutlass and get to work on your dream. That skill you have always hoped to develop, it's not going magic its way to you, you have to study it, work on it, practice it.

If a friend tells you about a big dream they have, pat them on the shoulder and tell them (in a kind tone of course;) "Everything we enjoy and admire today was once just someone's dream, but they did the work and brought that dream to life, so go do the same". Once the dream/goal/destination has been established, execution should follow; no time to waste.

At some point you just have to start working on your big idea. You don't have to start big, start small. You may not do it right first time, there may be starts and stops and road blocks etc., but none of these should stop you from taking the action.

At the end of the day your thinking will not produce any benefit for you or the people around you. But your action, not matter how little can have an impact. So develop an action bias, take more action, daily action, the path will get clearer the more you do. And of course, the feedback you gain will be invaluable...

At the end of the day, our actions will always speak louder than our words. 

Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie - Doing The Minimum At Your Workplace: Here's The Problem

You may know the colleague who always strives to do the minimum. Whatever task he/she can dodge they dodge. They always turn work in late. They have the mentality of 'now the cat is a away, the mice can finally play'. They are always behind deadlines. Someone has to do their work. And of course there's always a  neat excuse. Let's just say they have perfected the art of doing very little to be of use to their employer and teammates. Et cetera, et cetera...

Does the description remind you of anyone? Maybe it's you, that certainly was more of me not too long ago. The challenge when we strive to dodge doing our work with diligence and quality is that we become too costly to our managers/teammates and  lose value in their eyes. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind...

Reduce the cost of managing you - when your manager constantly has to keep an eye on you and has to chase you to get your work done, you're costing them more because every minute spent chasing you is a minute they cannot spend doing the work they're supposed to be doing. You should strive to make sure your employer spends the least time possible chasing you to get your work done. 

Your value to your employer is a function of the benefits you bring and the costs you reduce - position yourself such that you are always working to increase the benefits your team/manager derives from working with you and or reducing their costs therein. Remember that value means what is valuable to your employer/team, not (just) what is valuable to you. If you optimize to be this kind of employee, you'll automatically strive to do the maximum rather than the minimum.

There's no security in doing the minimum - The thought process when we do the minimum or procrastinate on our work is often that we are being smart or gaining from the experience. However, the results are almost always on the contrary - doing the minimum hurts you. Your manager struggles to trust you to do your work without being policed, they are afraid to put you up for new opportunities, you will be micro-managed, you'll be paid the minimum etc. 

Remember “Folks who never do any more than they are paid for, never get paid more than they do” Elbert Hubbard

It's simple, strive for excellence at all times, whether or not your manager is around.

Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie - Three Simple Steps To Discover What You Are Really Good At

I was in a conversation with graduating university students in the past two weeks and this question came up. A young lady was asking me how she can discover what she is really good at. In this quick post, I would like to share with you what my response was, In the hope that it may help you or someone you know. 

Disclaimer: As you might already notice through my blog and other work, I am a big believer that your best outcomes as well as the key to transforming the lives of those around you lies in doing work you're passionate about. When you heart is engaged, hard work and motivation are not so difficult to generate as compared to when you're working against yourself. 

Here are my thoughts on the matter...

What do others find boring/tedious that you enjoy spending time on?

For years I have been creating videos where I teach various subjects and make them available to students and teachers through my YouTube channel, the Youth Stand's Facebook page and various groups on WhatsApp, spending mys meager earnings at a time I was not working. Second, Learning a foreign language, especially if you do not have the means to travel to the native country is a task considered too tedious for many. But, for years I have enjoyed taking on new languages (currently it's Arabic) and enjoying the hard work of speaking them. I have tried many other things such as playing football when I was young, but the task seems so tedious and I always wondered why it seems so easy and fun for my brother and my other friends. Every path involves working hard, but if you find something you enjoy/seem to do well at with little effort compared to other people, that is a pointer to what you should be doing. 

Poll your friends - they might blow your mind like mine did

I did this myself once and the results blew my mind. I was watching a video on YouTube when someone suggested polling my friends. So, I called in two of my closet friends at the time and asked them two questions:

"We've been to school, worked and studied at college together. I am thinking about what I am really good at and should focus on. I am asking you because I trust you and would like to you help on this. the only rule is you have to be honest with me." Once they agreed, then I asked them the following questions, listened (without judgement) and made notes. I reminded them that the second question is even more important. 

1. What three things would you say I am really good at/you like about me?

2. What three things do you think I need to improve/change if I am reach my highest potential?

To be honest, I only polled two of my friends (10 people were recommended), but what they had to say has been of so much help to me in a way I cannot express. They highlighted strengths I've always exhibited and they admired in me that I never knew and made me realize some of my biggest weaknesses and areas I need to improve to reach my fullest potential. What they told me that day has since been on my mind and taken into consideration whatever I am doing. The key is in talking to people you really trust and making sure you remind them to be honest with you. 

Try a lot of things - you might just stumble upon your talent

This is one of those simple concepts that can change your life. The truth is that only a few of use are lucky enough to discover what we are talented at a young age. We may have shown these things when we were little, but due to society, we were forced to move on to other paths. For most of us, we have to discover what we can be truly good at. The best way to do this in my view is to try a bunch of different things. The younger you are, the more important this is for you. If you don't know what you are really good at/enjoy doing, don't rush to settle upon a career path, by trying different things you will discover it. 

This doesn't always have to come from you though. For instance, when I graduated from high school, I was set to go into law/economics straight away. However, I was given the opportunity to go to teacher training college. At first, I didn't want to, event thought most of my volunteer times during school were teaching! I can say I was mostly listening to society telling me to become a lawyer. After a great deal of stubbornness, I agreed and that has since been the path that's given me the most meaning and enjoyment.

If you're older, don't lose hope. A great way of going about this is to consider aspects of your job/career that you seem to enjoy the most and work towards being as close to these as possible. You can also engage your manager/employer about this so that they may help find you these opportunities. This is what that employer should ideally want. Organizations incur many material and immaterial costs when employees hate their jobs/find them boring.

I hope this helps you in your quest to discover what you are truly good at. 

#Empowered Young People Really Can Transform Africa#

Sierra Leone has COVID-19 and all its many problems. Do Black Lives really matter to us right now? (forgive the sarcasm)

Thank you Sierra Leonean-Americans for enlightening me this past weekend about the brutal and subtle yet pervasive reality of racism against black people in America.

While countless numbers of people the world over (black as well as white) far removed from the immediate vicinity of George Floyd's death are out in the streets, getting together in halls and social media platforms pushing for justice and an end to the clearly racist killing of black people in the world’s most famous democracy, there are some who think this is the time to remind us that we’ve got problems too and must focus on those. Others choose to say “but, oh there are some good white people too”.

Well, to be honest with you, if had not had the opportunity to be invited by my partner to attend an event organized by Americans (black and white) born and or living in Sierra Leone to seek justice for George Floyd's death and the deaths of so many black people in the hands of the police, I might have ignorantly been among these people who think we should focus on our own problems and remind people about my ‘good’ white people experiences. Even though my partner (who’s Sierra Leonean American) in so many conversations explains how blatant and pervasive the reality of race is, I never grasped its seriousness and effects as I did this pas weekend. The list of countless names of black people killed by the hands of police in 2015 alone couldn’t fit the two large-sized papers displayed on the pillar! The event was a blasting realization of my ignorance about race, helped me recollect the moments I have experienced racism (here in my own country). But above all, I learned from the many people who expressed their sadness about this injustice.

After a 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence (this was how long those three white police officers were kneeling on George’s neck back and knees) and calls for justice, a microphone (wiped clean every time btw to avoid spread) was passed around for attendees (seating 6 feet away from each other) to express their views on the matter of race in America. Many people spoke, expressing their encounters with racism in America, their constant worries about their children, of their brothers being arrested (the stereotype that black men are a threat), their experiences in American embassies being yelled at under the sneering looks of white people scrutinizing their fit to get US visas, the experiences of a black girl being told by her white friend that they could no longer play together because her white parents say they can’t play with the black girl etc. etc. I had something to say myself at the moment, to remind them about how they could start making a change here in Sierra Leone (where a lot of racism exists) but I didn’t need to say it, they all knew. Instead my chattering muffled away and I finally started to listen, intently.

People where not just being sad and grumbling by the way, they were suggesting ways to tackle this important matter. In my broad recollection of their contributions, the solution is two part; work hard to actively participate in voting to put the right people in the right places as those elected will eventually be making the laws. Second, become aware of racism in your home, in your parenting, and in your workplace and stop and correct racist acts (small and big) directed towards anyone – shame racism everywhere you see and feel it (both in your words and in your actions). One key thing I also learned was the importance of not patronizing the ‘oppressor’ – who are clearly the white people condoning and promoting racism and benefiting from its privileges.

Among the many suggestions, one that I really liked was from one lady who showed us a book of values she put together that she uses with her children to teach them about values such as respect and love for everyone. I think this was beautiful and profound since children get schooled into racism and accepting (if not participating) in it during childhood in their own families.

So, my word to you is this, Sierra Leone has its many problems some old some new including Covid-19. But we should never detract attention from a matter of such importance by drawing these parallels. It is not that these problems are not real and affecting us, but drawing these parallels will only serve to take attention from this big problem our society faces.  We as African, should actually know better…

Shame racism everywhere you see and feel it.

Thank you all for enlightening me about racism…

Thanks,

Alusine Barrie.

Alusine Barrie: Enterprise is the way - How People Who Want To Make An Impact End Up Becoming Entrepreneurs

If you pay attention as you grow up, you'll start noticing those things that are consistent about you; the things you care about, your likes and dislikes, the kind of people you enjoy to work with, environments that bring out the best in you and the types of problems you enjoy tackling and how you enjoy approaching them.

One of the greatest challenges I have observed people who want to have an impact face (especially those who start non-profit organizations) is the constant frustration to keep an organization running (with sufficient financial resources primarily) while staying true to their mission and vision. In the quest to gain funding from donors who have their own agendas and templates, who have their own preferences or may not see the urgency and dynamics of the problem you are trying to solve and how you want to solve it, it's a constant battle to explain and convince, and living by the whims of people who may not understand your approach.

People like these are leaders and are not afraid to work and give everything to the things they care about. But it's so hard sometimes to convince donors about why and how things should be done. They may feel slowed down, have to bang their heads a thousand times to close down a piece of funding and constantly have to live in the worry of whether or not they can fulfill their organization's basic responsibilities. These frustrations I have seen are what have driven my interest into utilizing the power of entrepreneurship to reach the impact I want to have. And this is becoming more and more evident as I continue to meet people striving to have and impact.

People like Bill and Melinda Gates are a striking example in this regard. With their wealth, they set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through which they tackle big causes like poverty and health care especially in the world's poorest countries. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "any idea is great, but if you don't have the money, you can't implement anything". Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) also had this to say "I think money is a good thing. It allows you to invest in things that don't have a short term payback."

Many who embody the traits of an entrepreneur (a.k.a proactive leader), actually don't think they do. This is exactly how I have seen myself for a very long time. However, entrepreneurs are just people driven to change things, whose character helps them see opportunities and solve problems around them. This is the definition of leadership at its core too. In my view, entrepreneurship is a more proactive form of leadership and change making; one that takes into account of this reality. What entrepreneurship does is that it gives you the space and resources to see the change you want to see the way you want to see it. NOT how the donor wants you to reach it.
Many people who end up becoming entrepreneurs are people who care deeply about a problem or cause and use their enterprises as a way to have the impact they envisioned. For many entrepreneurship is just a necessary step to reaching their purpose in life. The image of the business prodigy who started selling at the age of 10 doesn't fit many of us and definitely doesn't fit many number of  those who have created the greatest enterprises in history.

What most people don't realize is that the traits like vision, purpose, passion, drive, decisiveness, persuasiveness, risk tolerance, flexibility, trustworthiness etc that make a great leader are also all the key traits that define an entrepreneur. For many, like the one I just met, entrepreneurship is just a necessary 'evil' to something else - to see the change they want to see while staying true to who they are and want to approach things.

There's one caveat though; Entrepreneurship is not an easy ride so don't get into entrepreneurship just for the sake of money. Choose a problem you deeply care about and enjoy working on. All those who have succeeded in building business have emphasized the necessity of passion in succeeding as an entrepreneur. See my earlier post on why doing work you're passionate about is the only legitimate shortcut to success and fulfillment: http://theyouthstand.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-only-legitimate-shortcut-to-true.html.
Thanks,
Alusine Barrie.

Whatever the circumstance, Just do the next best thing, there's always one!

Every once in a while we all come to the cross roads. Facing a failure, challenge, doubt, anxiety or any other difficult situation? That's perfectly fine, now just do the next right thing. No matter the circumstances you face, favourable or not so favourable, doing doing the next right thing is a choice that's always available to each and everyone of us.
However, this doesn't just have to do with facing challenging situations. In fact, good times, when everything seems amazing is usually a time of great peril for many people. When all is well and good we can easily forget what brought here and this far, we forget to nurture important relationships, we slack on our efforts, it's easy to take on character eroding tendencies that undo our sense of self.

Or sometimes we just get tired of the daily grind, we get burned out in our jobs, work, and in our relationships.
We also make mistakes, big and small. To all these, I say to you just do the next best thing.

No matter the cross road you find yourself in, there's always a next right thing to do. You may not have been been able to see it yet, but there's always a best thing to do. Take time to look deep within, most time your guts and your instincts know us more. We all know deep down when something feels right and it doesn't. Our circumstance and challenges grow larger and cost us more when we fail to listen to our inner voice pointing us to the best course of action.
However, it is good to always remember that the next best isn't necessarily the next most comfortable thing, the next easiest thing, or the thing that will make everyone around you cheer you on. The best thing in every situation is just the best.
Just do the next best thing!!

How do Sierra Leone’s Leaders Make Decisions – why credible data is necessary for a better nation

How do Sierra Leone’s Leaders Make Decisions – why credible data is necessary

Conversations that can transform Sierra Leone; Discussing the power of credible national data in aiding Sierra Leone’s businesses, organizations and most importantly its policy makers make more informed decisions.

The task of Sierra Leone’s leaders and policy makers is not an easy one. National development; the social and economic transformation requires foresight and the ability to plan into the future. It requires decision makers to have access to and base their decisions on reliable and timely information about Sierra Leoneans and Sierra Leone’s present and past as basis for planning and implementing policies that achieve the best outcomes for the country. The logic of my thought today is simple; we elect national leaders and give them the huge responsibility of making our lives better, but if (when asked) we do not give them the (right) data they need to make informed decisions, the whole nation suffers, as it has been for a very long time in my own opinion.

This past Friday I was in a conversation with a group of fellow young Sierra Leoneans and we were having a conversation about the importance of data in decision making. As the discussion went by, it slowly became clear that without rigorous, timely, and reliable data that reflects the real Sierra Leone to guide our policy makers, the decisions they make will inevitably be constrained and be overshadowed by faithful guesses their own humanly biases at best.

Actually, if there’s something worse than not having data at all, it’s misleading data. Here is where the daily Sierra Leonean has a lot do to help him/herself and the rest of their community. When there are censuses and surveys conducted by government, we often look at the enumerators/data collectors and the exercise light-heartedly. However, if one knows the number of both daily and long term decisions that will be made based on that data, one would treat with its due seriousness. When we refuse to give information to data collectors, or give them false information, we are causing ourselves our very own harm. The scariest part is when the government or its related agencies hire us to collect data and we think we are being smart by sitting in our own house and fill up the ledgers with made up information. Ultimately, this data collected will be processed and will form the basis of national decision that affect our daily lives as Sierra Leoneans.  

This tension culminated in small group activity in which we divided trainees into 4 groups and each group was tasked to make the same decision but each group received a varying amount of data to support them in their decision making challenge. The first group had no data to aid them, the second had 25% data, the third 75% and the fourth had access to all the data needed for them to make a good decision. This was a vivid illustration of the power of data as each group had to prepare a presentation to showcase their decision and justify the basis of their decision.  

Actually, the activity showed us also that without good data to rely on, decision makers can still sometimes guess their way to a good decision. However, this is what precisely we don’t want. We don’t just want Sierra Leone’s leaders to have access to data, we want them to believe deep down and absurdly, ensure themselves that the relevant mechanisms are put in place to put correct data into their hands.

At the end of the day, if our leaders don’t make our daily and long term decisions based on credible data, what are they making them based on? Our leaders are not magicians, their decisions come from somewhere, let us all play our own part by giving them correct information with which they can make the decisions to mover our country forward. A food for thought for all Sierra Leoneans.

Hey mama, how are you doing?

It’s Friday and I have to say I’ve been thinking about you all day

It’s your son; I know I’m in here

In your heart, the safest place in the universe

Thank you for sharing your body with me and

For making me your heart a warm bed even in the harshest winters

                                              

Baba can rest in peace

And not be so worried that he went too soon

For you have made a perfect mother and father

Like a hen, you shielded your chicks with your last breath

Thank you for the battles you fought with all the hawks and witches of the world

I cherish the stories you used to tell us about how in those long nine months

Hassanatu and I would kick on your belly and all you could do was rub you huge tommy and smile

As you longingly wait for our arrival

You would go on and on talking to us as if we were already here

People would laugh and ask “What’s happening with this woman? She’s talking to herself!”

They thought you were crazy

You thought they were crazy too

In your old age, your battle scars shine brighter than gold

For Like the mother eagle, you flew the million miles to battle

For our million mile list of desires

I can remember your smile, when even in your sweat and thirst and empty stomach

You watched us scavenge our way through the food you made us

Thank you also for teaching us how to fly

Through the high tides and rough winds of life

Your role model and teachings are the strong wings on which I flap

Thank you mama,

For your love never goes away,

You’re the queen of my heart

Any other woman can only ever share that space with you….

Our New World Needs You To Wear A New Hat.The Case For Promoting Creativity

The old adage of 'Jack of all trades, master of none' is perhaps the clearest manifestation of where our society got it wrong when it comes to creativity and it's critical dependence on the number of experiences, skills and perspectives one has in order to be able to connect things in new ways and create never before seen transformation in society. However, as stubborn as society has been to see this reality, something else is forcing it to come to a new realization. The truth is, our new world needs Jacks of many trades. 

There is a slow but increasing realization that putting people in boxes and that old the ways of approaching our world’s most pressing issues is failing to produce fulfilled individuals and the outcomes we desire in society. Today more than ever, our rapidly changing world with its great opportunities and many challenges, requires the ability to think in new ways and the birthing of new and life changing solutions to serve the needs of a more connected and insatiable world.

Just like in the natural world, as technology-driven globalization sweeps us along, nations, organizations and companies of all shapes are left with a single option, innovate or die. As the state of the world and the priorities of donor countries and aid organizations evolve, doing good to the world is not spared either. Poor countries and non-governmental organizations in need of support are forced to face a new reality.

Perhaps, the winds of change hit businesses and multinational corporations the harshest. The world of business is facing rapid changes in how businesses compete, the new governance and global climate in which they must succeed. All this creates a new necessity for staying businesses to stay young and innovative to better serve a distracted consumer with a plethora of options to choose from.

All these larger forces have also led to unseen before changes to our workplaces and what it means to have a ‘successful’ career. Today’s workplace rewards the employee who is able to bring diverse skill set and perspectives to their teams, who can see and connect things in new ways and help their organization achieve desired goals. The old one dimensional career path that puts people into boxes no longer works. Individuals who want to succeed in the workplace nowadays have to bring diverse skills and experiences together to decipher problems and utilize new opportunities to solve problems in new ways.

The need to stay innovative and find new ways of approaching the world’s most pressing issues and concerns requires a societal shift in homes and schools (primarily) towards developing individuals with the capacity to see old problems in new ways, seek out new opportunities and tackle problems in novel ways. Thus a shift to make the promotion of creativity skills ubiquitous in our homes and schools is a central necessity for all individuals, groups, organizations and nations seeking better outcomes.

This is where Jacks of many Trades come in to save the day. Jacks of many trades can connect things in novel ways and thus give birth to new ideas, products and ways of doing things.

Schools and Universities have been painfully too slow to adapt to this new world. Schools should stop putting people in boxes and promoting the single career path that has failed to suffice in today's world. In fact, this culture of putting people in boxes goes starkly against one of the strongest theories we have in the field of educational psychology - Howard Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligence. According to Gardener, while our schools generally seem to design for and examine logical and linguistic intelligence, this is a very limited view of true human potential. There are all these other forms of intelligence that are left mostly undeveloped.
If there is a new mindset we have to inculcate in the minds of today's young generation, it is the appreciation that creativity hinges on the diverse number of skills, experiences and perspectives they can draw from to solve problems and create value for themselves and their communities.

Banks - The True Modern Day Alchemists - Can Solve Youth Unemployment and Control Sierra Leone's Soaring Prices (Entrepreneurship is the answer)

As a young person I have a first-hand experience with the difficulties young people face in finding employment our country. But I should start by telling you what I truly believe. Despite the challenges we face as a country, I believe deep down that we would all like to wake up in a prosperous Sierra Leone where things such as youth unemployment and our ever soaring prices are both things of the past. I also know that an economically flourishing Sierra Leone is in the best interest of every Sierra Leonean - including the president, all members of parliament, business owners and each and every other Sierra Leonean. Why? Well, from a purely pragmatic sense, government depends on taxes to execute its basic functions and pursue projects of national importance. With a strong and flourishing economy our government can raise taxes from its own people without relying on aid, the president and all other policy makers can go to bed in peace without worrying about unemployment and uncontrollable prices. Isn't that what we all want? Also, I am simply not able to think of anyone being happy to captain a sinking boat.
Of course, probably because youth unemployment (you can call some of it underemployment) has been a part of Sierra Leone’s narrative for such a long time despite changes of government, it is easy to perceive the problem as unsolvable. However, this is not true, in fact unemployment and soaring prices in the presence of banks is an absurdity.

The backbone of my thought here is that while the banking sector (when not well managed and directed by Government) can be a major source of the ever rising prices, they are also perhaps the best remedy for ending unemployment and creating inflation-free, stable and sustainable economic growth that I believe you so desire.  In this post I am going to push a theory of national development and poverty eradiation based on using banks for the national good.

An economy can be distilled into two basic economic activities; production and consumption (spending). It is the millions of individual production and consumption (spending) activities that take place in our villages, markets, households, communities, businesses and government offices that all come together to form what is known as the economy. While production takes place in three forms; households, market and public, it is market production that that holds the keys to economic transformation because it doesn’t only create new goods and services but it also redistributes benefits to its stakeholders.

On the other hand, we have consumption (spending) – here our problem with banks and rising prices comes. In an economy there are two ways to finance consumption; through what you earn (income) or by lending (credit). Credit can be created from thin air! Whenever, you go to the bank to borrow money or whenever you go to the nearby shop to buy a bottle of Sierra Juice and promise to pay at a later date, you have simply created credit. What many people don’t know is that a significant part of what they think is the money supply is actually just credit.  Credit has extremely powerful implications, it allows us to be able to spend beyond what our current incomes can afford. But credit creation, when not carefully managed, can also be extremely dangerous for a country and will inherently result to the problems we have been experiencing.

When banks lend money (creating credit), this can go into three main paths, only one of which can produce the types of results we want for our country. First, credit can be created to finance productive activities such as providing start-up capital for new enterprises creating employment and new goods and services. Second, credit can be used to finance speculative activities in the finance industry. Thirdly, banks can lend to people to finance household consumption such as buying a new television or building a residential house.

Mr. President, it is the second and third forms of credit creation that creates higher prices and leads to economies overheating and bursting into financial crises. When banks are left on their own, they won’t prioritize lending for new enterprises, especially for small and medium enterprises which are the perfect engine for the creation of employment.

Governments in many countries (for good reasons) have historically delegated the role of credit creation

          (To Be Completed...do reason with me...)

Investment In Childhood Nutrition Has The Highest Returns On Investment, According To Economists

"Nearly half of all deaths of children under five in Africa are attributable to under nutrition." (UNICEF 2019)
Furthermore the interaction of undernutrition and infection creates a cyclic relationship resulting in weakening health and poor cognitive development of children and poor work performance in adulthood.
However, it surprisingly turns out that investing in childhood nutrition has the highest returns on investment.
But why have past interventions failed?
What can be done to make the most of this?

A few days ago I was watching an interview featuring Dr.Jordan Peterson, where he was emphasising empirical research on how poor nutrition can have extreme (and as i found out sometimes almost irreversible) effects on the a child's cognitive development and the adult he/she turns out to be in society. Touched by this, I've spent the past few days reading up the issue of Early Childhood Development in general.

Billions of dollars in aid and interventions are spent each year by Governments, Intergovernmental Organizations, NGOs and Businesses aiming to transform the livelihoods of underserved communities. Decisions about what to spend available resources on are made difficult by the plethora of possible causes to target and interventions to support. However, not all causes are the same; the return on investment (ROI) of a dollar spent in one area may impact a broader set of outcomes and in a more profound way compared to another.

In economics, the value of pursuing a particular alternative (in the presence of competing alternatives) is determined by the extra benefit (return in this case) gained in pursuing that course of action compared to the second best alternative. The limited nature of the resources available to address our ever growing basket of challenges to tackle necessitates considering returns on investment (ROI) as a prudent endeavour for governments and agencies aiming to improve socio-economic outcomes in society. Research has shown that, among several of the big challenges facing our world today, a list including causes such as starvation, lack of water, tyrannical governance, poor sanitation, poor education etc., investing in childhood nutrition has the highest returns on investment for foreign policy dollars. According to this study involving a large and diverse group of economists, it was found that Investing in Childhood Nutrition has a staggering 250:1 return on investment! This means, for every dollar we invest in childhood nutrition, we get back 250 dollars.

The effects of poor nutrition on a child’s educational performance, mental and physiological health and development have been known for a long time, yet efforts to channel resources to tackling the problem has been mediocre at best. This is compounded by the fact that household consumption decisions don’t seem to follow the assumption of rationality so central to much of classical economic theory. The poorest households are most vulnerable to this problem.

However, demand for better health, especially nutritional health cannot just be reduced to the presence of income poverty. It has been observed that increases in income in poor households do not necessarily result in the consumption of more nutritious food; rather, poor households tend to go for tastier food! The more recent branch of behavioural economics may shed a lot of light into this strange phenomenon. The central theme in behavioural economics is that economic decision making is heavily influenced by social and psychological factors. This is a striking divergence from main stream economics based on the assumption of rational decision making.

What this all mean? Well, given that investment in childhood nutrition gives us the highest returns on dollars invested and we know that poor households may not necessarily improve nutritional intake given an increase in incomes, there is great impetus for intervention by governments and humanitarian agencies to seek out alternative solutions. Let us explore some of these solutions.

First of all, because of the great improvements in school enrolment and the fact that schools are already a well-integrated aspect of most communities, school feeding programmes can be a great way to provide essential nutrition for children while also promoting academic engagement. However, these interventions have mostly been short lived due to unsustainable funding mechanisms for their huge price tags. However, since agriculture is already the principal source of livelihood in most poor communities, finding ways to mobilise local production of the essential food ingredients and engaging parents (through a Parent Teacher Association or some other mechanism) can go a long way to ensure school feeding programmes are more cost-effective and locally driven. These school feeding interventions can also be packaged with a nutritional education component.

Secondly, general public information and awareness are an important part of sustainable solutions. Working with local authorities and traditional leaders, public and communal advocacy and educational campaigns can go a long way in changing local attitudes towards nutritional decision making. Community nutrition education campaigns can be done in a number of ways: local television and radio shows by local experts, radio soap operas, descriptive poster campaigns featuring local characters, short cartoon clips, and many others.

Finally, Governments can invest in school curricula reforms and teaching methodologies to ensure up-to-date nutritional education is accessible to all children, especially those from the poorest communities.

In the end, because we know investing in childhood nutrition has the best returns on investment, this gives an additional reason for governments and humanitarian agencies to invest in finding the most economically viable interventions to make adequate nutrition is accessible to children find ways to tackle the bottle necks that have limited the success of previous and existing solutions. Innovative and locally driven approaches with schools, parents and local community leaders at their centre will be critical to reach the most sustainable solutions.

The dream of every leader: Why and how to lead a passion-driven team

In an earlier blog, I wrote about why the best thing young people can do for themselves, their communities and the world in general is to follow, or better yet, develop a passion. Today, I want to turn my attention to discussing why and how leaders of businesses and organizations can lead passion driven teams.

1. Es más dificil nadar contra el corriente. It’s is easier to swim with the currents than against them; so passion-driven leadership aims as much as possible to have team members swimming with their own unique currents, and this is fundamental to the achievement of powerful company and organizational results. In teams and organizations, leaders often rely on a few members of their team who bring a unique contribution to the team and on whose single performance they believe the best results of the team depends.
   However, as well as managing passionate employees, I believe leaders can actually develop and lead a passion driven team where, instead relying on one or two, every team member becomes a star bringing unique piece to contribute to the creation of a team achieving unbelievable results. Each member gets to engage in personally meaningful work and in what they enjoy doing while contributing their best to the achievement of the collective outcomes of the team.
2.  Passion driven leadership is the best way to keep star employees and to nurture every team member to become stars and keep them committed to the team’s vision and goals over long periods of time. In previous post, I wrote about why one should build their passion and how this produces the best outcomes for themselves, those around them and the society. I also noted that one doesn’t even have to leave their current workplace in order to develop a passion. This is where passion-driven leadership comes in.
3. A strategic advantage: with passion-driven leadership, it becomes harder for team members to leave and if and when they do, they continue to be an asset for the organization. In this perspective, passion-driven leadership takes the worry of losing highly performing team members away by focusing first and foremost on developing fulfilled employees who find personal meaning in the work they do and thus giving their best over long periods of time. A deep human tendency is the search for meaning and a sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and not merely putting food on the table. While it’s true that salaries are important, it’s a well-known fact that beyond a threshold financial rewards serve a diminishing contribution to workplace performance.
4. Passion-driven leadership relieves the leader from the position of chief discipline officer to a nurturer of individuals and relationships. Although most people in leadership hate to see themselves as this, the conventional idea of the leader is that of the severe and ever-ready-to-pounce boss. This leaves leaders in constant stress and detached from the people on whose commitment and performance their own success as leaders depend.

Here are some ways to develop a passion-driven team:

• How 1: Develop a passion-driven leadership infrastructure throughout your organization, especially true for people leading multiple teams. While everyone has capacity to become a passion-driven leader, especially in the early stages, it is best to identify members of your team who themselves have found a sense of purpose with their work and who are not fearful of developing other leaders. Once identified, strategically place these members across teams where they can lead passion-driven micro teams.
• How 2: Be attentive to the activities, both work and non-work, that excite each member of your team. Also, observe which tasks and opportunities they naturally gravitate towards and which tasks they dread and always turn in late. Nudge them in the direction of those activities. Using personality profiling tests such as this one based on Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ personality type theory is one of the best I have seen for doing this for workplace, just make sure team members write what comes to mind first. Find it here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp  
• How 3: People’s strengths are tied to their core weaknesses. There are two solutions to this; one is to pair people up with others that complement their weaknesses and second is to give team members ample opportunities to develop their areas of weakness and stretch out of their comfort zones.
• How 4: Observe team dynamics and work to fill in any skill gaps with new team members. Sometimes, after aligning everyone in your team to the roles and responsibilities they are best suited for, you may find empty space in the team. You may look within the team to see who, with some push and opportunities can fill that role, but sometimes the best thing is to recruit a new member into the team. Just ensure the hiring process is oriented towards shedding light on whether or not someone can fill this role; role-based hiring processes and probation periods are an excellent way to do this.

Finally, apart from the above suggestions, it is important for one to perform a regular diagnosis of their team, both personally as a leader, but also with the whole team where the perform a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis and execute the necessary action to move the team and individual members forward.  

The vision of a world free from poverty and the need for an empowered youth

Despite a very long history of developmental aid, one can still confidently use mostly the same adjectives to describe much of the African continent. Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are both testament to the radical change necessary if Africans are going to be able to benefit from the tremendous progress society has made and the vast opportunities existing in the world today.

The essential elements for the making of a self-sustaining and thriving Africa have always been there; what’s missing is perhaps as much about inspiring a new mind-set in the Africans as anything else. A new mind-set founded on inspired leadership and empowering young people with the skills and attitudes to champion Africa’s prosperity by providing innovative solutions to existing problems and by exploring the vast entrepreneurial opportunities in the continent.

Africa’s Agenda 2063[1] is the continent’s commitment and road map to eradicate poverty, provide opportunities for all Africans and catalyse education to transform skills acquisition, promote science and drive innovation and transform the face of the continent.
Recently, the United Nations also launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[2] as the world’s comprehensive vision for the next 15 years for a world where poverty and hunger are eradicated, quality health care and education are accessible to all and women the world over are empowered to lead dignified lives and actively participate in transforming their communities.

The Youth Stand for Africa is a direct reflection of these twin visions. We vision a poverty free Africa where everyone is empowered to contribute to the continent’s transformation and prosperity.

Our focal areas are:

• Education; because we believe development and transformation heavily depends on a robust and innovative education system serving the current and future needs of the country it serves.
• Leadership; because we believe that inspiring and empowering young men and women to become capable of identifying and pursuing opportunities for change and transformation
• Entrepreneurship; because we believe self-empowerment and independence is the only sustainable path to a poverty-free Africa

The Vision and Mission:

Vision: A world free from poverty.

Mission: A poverty free Africa; Eradicate poverty and transform society by empowering young people through education, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Our Goals:

1. A poverty-free Africa championed by empowered young men and women able and inspired to solve problems and exploit untapped opportunities in their communities
2. A resilient and independent Africa able to feed itself and lead its own growth and prosperity
3. A globally engaged Africa leading in innovation and tackling global issues

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[1] https://au.int/en/documents/20141012/key-documents-agenda2063

[2] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/